Mobile app or Web app? Which one is the best for your company in 2019?

5 min read time

With this article, we want to make sure that you will understand the key differences between Mobile apps and Web apps and you will gain the knowledge to be able to evaluate which one you should choose as your future investment.

Personally, I like to see illustrative examples to understand them deeper and remember for them later on. Therefore, I will show you how Ali Express use these two platforms in order to raise their customer satisfaction and engagement. Without the user preferences would be difficult for you to choose, therefore I will present you the key factors to make your decision easier.

What is the difference between a Mobile and a Web app?

People use apps every day. Sometimes they are aware of them, sometimes they don’t even realize that they are using an application which is embedded into a website…Including me 🙂

Most of the people if we mention applications, immediately come to his mind the mobile applications such as Shazam, Instagram, and Messenger from some of the well-known examples. We are not surprised, because there is a huge misunderstanding of these two concepts.
The mobile apps are directly downloaded from App store, Google play or Blackberry app world. So it is specifically built for a particular platform such as IOS or Android. You can even use these apps without an internet connection, but they mostly require to have access to system resources such as photo library, camera or GPS.

Web Apps are usually coded in a browser-supported language such as Javascript and HTML. It can include online forms, shopping carts, video, and photo editing, file conversion or email programs such as Gmail. Don’t forget that you always require to have an internet connection, so you need to be online if you want to use them. But you don’t need to download it, you can use the company’s website to have direct access to it. But there is the trick, and I suppose this is the main reason why people can’t make a difference between these apps. The web applications are mainly responsive, so if you are checking them from your phone it functions the same as a mobile app which can be confusing.

But let’s see an illustrative example, it always gives a deeper understanding.

Ali Express

Ali Express is one of the biggest e-commerce business in the world. And Yes, they have both Web application and Mobile application. A few years ago they converted their mobile site to a progressive web app. Before that, they tried to make the customers to download their app, but it didn’t work. Therefore, they realized that they need to have a web app to build their customer’s engagement and after they can convince their customers to start using their mobile application which results in higher conversions.

As you can see the design is almost the same, but it is very different products. Mobile apps have the advantages that they are faster by harnessing the power from the processor and can remember for your personal information. So the shopping process can be much easier and faster.
For the web app, as you can see, you always need to be online to be able to use the browser of your mobile or desktop.

User preference of Mobile and Web apps:

As an entrepreneur or a company, you always need to take into consideration the trends of the market. Therefore, we can’t miss the statistics and usage of both platforms in order to give you a clear picture.
Nowadays, smartphones take the largest share of global digital minutes. With other words, smartphones are now the dominant platform in terms of total minutes across every market according to comScore global mobile report 2018. Furthermore, It is revealed that more than 80% of mobile minutes in all markets are spent in apps and it is growing 6% year by year. These are the key factors why the companies are willing to invest into own mobile applications.

If we look into deeper, it has to be a reason why people spend more time with apps instead of mobile sites. And it is simply because mobile apps can provide a better user experience. The users prefer speed, extra features, and special discount and offers. But to make a conclusion we need to understand that people usually start using the company’s website before they willing to download their app. Once they are committed to the company, they switch to the app for better user experience and faster shopping process. With other words, websites are better for engagement but mobile apps can reach higher conversations.

Conclusion

You can see that both Mobile and Web apps have pros and cons. You need to take into consideration your company profile, budget, and your future strategy. But currently the most effective solution on the market if you have both like the biggest players such as Alibaba, Pinterest, Amazon.

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